Thursday, March 4, 2010

Medical Marijuana Patient Says Drug Changed Her Life

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is receivingabout 500 new requests everyday for medical marijuana cards and theapplications have completely back-logged the system.

There is concern about the number of people getting these cards fromboth the opposition and proponents of Amendment 20. The healthdepartment says they estimate that they have received about 60,000applications as of the end of February. Some lawmakers say the law isbeing abused and are trying to pass restrictions. Those potentialrestrictions are causing concern for many patients who say they need thedrug.

She's been slowly recovering since a brain aneurysm put her in a comaback in 2007. "I couldn't even walk hardly `cause I was paralyzed on[one] side," Pauline said.

And while she was in the hospital doctors discovered she had six moreun-ruptured aneurysms. "I was always sick and in pain, my head wasalways hurting," Pauline said.

She says pain pills didn't help. "I was on so many pills, about fivedifferent seizure medications," she said.

"I was kind of running out of options of what to do and taking her todoctors and doctors all the time," said Pauline's husband Marvin.Desperate for relief, Pauline decided to try medical marijuana. Aboutsix months ago she saw a doctor in Colorado Springs who gave her amedical marijuana referral. She's been legally buying and using the drugever since.

Her husband, Marvin is brought to tears talking about the progress shehas made. "I couldn't take her nowhere, I had to be with her all thetime," Marvin said. He says within weeks of when Pauline started usingmarijuana he noticed a change. "Within a month she started showing signsof getting better, like standing and walking on her own," Marvin said.

Pauline says she uses the drug like she used her pain pills. A few timesa day she smokes some, or drinks tea made from the stems. "Medicalmarijuana has helped me to be able to live my life the way I'm supposedto now," Pauline said.

She buys her medicine from a dispensary and feels very fortunate she canget the drug easily, but she's concerned about the number of people whoare getting licensed. "The people that need it should be the onlyones that can get it," Pauline said.

She's afraid that restrictions being considered by lawmakers right now,to crack down on recreational users who get a card they might notmedically need, may take her access away.

"I don't know what I would do if I might have to go on the street andget it and I don't want to do that," Marvin said. But he says he'll makethose illegal buys if it comes to that. Medical marijuana has givenPauline parts of her life back and neither of them wants to lose whatthey have now.

Lawmakers are considering two bills dealing with medical marijuana.Senate Bill 109 would regulate the doctor - patient relationship. Itwould bar doctors from writing recommendations inside dispensaries thatsell medical marijuana and requires a full physical exam beforerecommending marijuana for patients. SB 109 passed the State HouseWednesday, but still faces a final State Senate vote because of anamendment. Another bill, State House Bill 1248, which would regulatedispensaries, will be introduced Thursday in the House. To read thecomplete bills, you can click on the links below.

Right now in Colorado Springs there are about 40 dispensaries. The cityis still working on an ordinance regulating their operation. Meanwhile,Pueblo has placed a moratorium on dispensaries until June.